Finite type invariants of integral homology 3-spheres: A survey

Abstract

This is a survey on the current status of the study of finite type invariants of integral homology 3-spheres based on lectures given in the workshop on knot theory at Banach International Center of Mathematics, Warsaw, July 1995. As a new result, we show that the space of finite type invariants of integral homology 3-spheres is a graded polynomial algebra generated by invariants additive under the connected sum. We also discuss some open questions on this subject.